Life isn't always fair, and
that’s something that Llewellyn Gardner knows about first hand. His life was on
the fast track until one night of extreme passion changed everything.

Now eight years later, he’s
still living with the aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs,
there’s another reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your
demons only to find out they can swim?

Shane Smith, Jr. owner of
Smith Construction, could see the emotional turmoil within his new employee —
it’s why he hired him. There was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood
man with the overly expressive eyes that came to their small town with a past
no one was willing to overlook. Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and
those eyes of his were a clear window to his soul. Shane wasn't going to let
the man live a future of solitude because his past had been plagued with
deceit.

Llewellyn wasn’t sure what to
think about Shane. After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice,
he was now faced with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn’t
believe his truth, and walked away? Llewellyn wasn’t sure he’d be able to
survive being left alone. Again.

EXCERPT

“Thinking of going in? Or are you
just gonna block the entrance?”

Llew turned at the sound of the
sure voice behind him. Since he seemed to tower over everyone he looked down at
the pretty brunette with dark brown eyes to match. “Um. Sorry.” Llew mumbled
quickly moving out of her way.

“Well don’t be sorry shuga’, just
escort a lady inside.” Llew didn’t blink as he watched the lady stalk towards
him. Her full chest sat above an extremely narrow waist. It almost looked
unnatural. She dressed and wore the amount of makeup that a grown woman would,
but her smooth face and approach screamed her real age. She was jailbait if
he’d ever seen one. Llew gave her a slight head nod and turned to leave when
his elbow was hooked.

“I saw you in the general store
applying for a job. You musta’ jus’ got into town, because if not I’d have
known, honey. So you got kin here?”

Silence.

The laugh was an all-out immature
giggle and it graded on his nerves. “Cat got your tongue, darlin’”. She moved
in even closer and dragged a long red nail down Llew’s arm, tilting her head
back to look up at him. “You want me to beg, huh? Come on now, handsome. Escort
a lady to a movie… then maybe -”

“Maybe when he sees’ a lady… he’ll
escort one.”

Llew diverted his attention away
from the overzealous minx that was practically humping his leg and focused on
the beautiful man approaching with another guy in tow. His voice wasn’t overly
deep like his own, it was a smooth and melodic southern drawl. Like he could be
a singer or a poet. He walked with an unhurried gait that was a mixture of ‘I’m
in charge’ and ‘you’re on my time, not the other way around’, and Llew found it
sexy as fuck. His tall friend chuckled behind him, moving away to purchase
their tickets. Is he on a date? No, their demeanor definitely said
‘friends.’

“Mind ya’ own business Smith, Jr.
I saw him first.”

Smith, Jr.

The man hooked one thumb in his
pocket not the slightest bit fazed at the remark. But Llew was thrown. Was this
guy actually gay or was she being a smart aleck? The man gave him nothing to go
on. He moved closer towards them and Llew got a nice whiff of his spicy, bold
cologne when a cool breeze blew his way. It was an interesting contradiction,
because the man’s entire persona said ‘cool and composed’.

“Mosey along, Sallie Ann. Don’t
make me ring ya’ daddy. He told me keep an eye on you while he’s gone and I
agreed. He’d be rather put out if I didn’t follow through on my promise.”

She reluctantly let go of his arm,
letting loose a long drawn out huff of annoyance. Llew didn’t bother watching
her walk away. She was irrelevant. With his hands tucked deep in his pockets he
eyed the man in front of him with a mixture of curiosity and wistfulness.

“Sometimes a person has gotta’ run
interference with that girl. She’s usually not that bad but her daddy’s outta’
town, so ya’ know how young girls can be.”

Actually, not really.

“Hi. I’m Shane Smith, Jr.” he
stuck out a large, calloused hand and it took Llew a couple seconds to process
that he was going to touch him. Llew shook his hand, his mouth still closed
tight as he watched the man’s eyes. They were light brown and full of humor and
amusement. He immediately thought that this was obviously a guy who had little
worries if any in life. Wait a minute…Smith….Jr. Is he the owner of? He
let go of the strong grip on his hand and wished he’d been able to hold it a
little longer.

“And you are?”

Llew swallowed before answering.
“Llew.”

Those eyes twinkled again and dark
brown brows rose up in question. “Llew…just Llew.”

It was a humiliation when a man
hated to tell someone his name. But by doing so it meant that they would soon
know who he really was. Know who he was classified as. He didn’t want this man
to know that, god help him he didn’t. But lying wasn’t an option.Fuck it. “Llewellyn Gardner.”

So many broke eye contact with him
and Llew was more than intrigued that Mr. Shane Smith, Jr. was staring at him
just as hard as he was staring back. He didn’t know why he was looking at him
that way but he didn’t mind it.

“Now that’s a name.” Smith smiled
beautifully.

Llew wasn’t
sure if this guy was flirting with him or not, he’d been in a place where
flirting didn’t exist for so long, he’d forgotten what it looked like…what it
sounded like. The way Shane Smith, Jr. was smiling at him it sure seemed like
it. Llew could imagine himself with a strong man like this. A man who was
gorgeous but didn’t know it. Not overly done up in fancy digs, he was dressed
like a working man but he wore that look well. He appeared simple but
confident, like a man that followed his own counsel and was not easily
persuaded. But Llew wouldn’t dare get his hopes up. As soon as word got out
that there was a newly registered sex offender in their quaint little town,
Smith, Jr. might be leading the lynch mob to run him out of there.

A.E.
Via is still a fairly new author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing
embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to spicy to scandalous. Her
stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new,
thought-provoking depths.

When
she’s not clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family—a
husband and four children.

While
this is only her seventh novel, she has plenty more to come. So stalk her – she
loves that - because the male on male action is just heating up!

Go
to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed
information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming
work, free reads, and where she’ll appear next.

March 24, 2015

Taber Delane is lucky be alive, but his
career as a firefighter ended the day a beam snapped resulting in a crushing
spinal injury. Most of his friends are willing to give him space, everyone
except paramedic, Deacon Hall.

Deacon hasn't met a challenge he
couldn't tackle and he knows Taber needs someone in his corner who isn't afraid
to stand up to the big bad fireman. The longer he’s around Taber, the more the
sexy vulnerability of the man comes through. Deacon finds he doesn’t just want
to be Taber’s live in caregiver, he wants a chance at the passionate man
beneath the stubborn shell.

A shell that is cracking, no matter what
Taber tries to hold it together. Without knowing how, Deacon being in his home
starts to open his eyes to the man Deacon hides from the rest of the world and
Taber craves to know more. A lot more.

Now
if only Deacon can get Taber to see that it isn't so bad having him there to
assist. Even if sometimes Taber is naked, dripping wet, and angry as hell.

Pages or Words: 43,556
words

Categories: Contemporary,
Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

“You’re
not giving me a sponge bath,” Taber snapped and glowered at Deacon as he
wheeled himself into the locker bay. The sweat ran down his temples, his shirt
soaked through with it. He took in his motionless legs and grimaced before
shooting Deacon another irritated look.

Deacon sat with his feet on one of the peeling dark blue benches, his
back reclined against a bank of gray lockers along the far wall in the physical
therapy building. A book was balanced on his knees, and black-rimmed glasses
perched on his nose. His shaggy auburn hair fell to curl around his ears in
disarray.

Deacon peered at him with pale green eyes. “There go my dreams of
rubbing you down and tweeting the pics.”

Draven St. James is a born and raised
Oregonian. She has traveled extensively in search of mischief and mayhem to
fill her books.Her ventures have been
quite successful in inspiring a wealth of stories.Of course at the end of the day, coffee
within reach, laptop at the ready is where she finds her peace.

Dade, human-Caeorleian hybrid and
ex-military grunt, doesn’t fit in—not with humans, not with aliens, not
anywhere. He’s always on the outskirts, angry, and people aren’t sure they can
trust him. When he encounters a compatible tziu named Yaseke, secrets,
misunderstandings, and attacks nearly prevent the two from making a connection
Dade sorely needs. Even after they unite, Dade and Yaseke face challenges that
two newly joined males should never have to endure.

From traitorous council members, to sadistic aliens who plan to sell them as
slaves, to meeting a mysterious race of revered aliens called Collectors, Dade
and Yaseke manage to stay together—and even rescue two youths related to
Yaseke, who’ve lost their parents to the same betrayer.

Someone from Dade’s past is at the root of everything he’s suffered. No way can
he let them get away with what they’re planning, but Dade isn’t sure he can
stop them on his own. If he doesn’t let go of his isolation and risk the pain
letting others in will bring, he’ll never save Caeorleia in time.

Excerpt:
Chapter One

Sunlight glared off the silver surface of
the lake, blinding me where I crouched away from everyone. The guard currently
assigned to me stood at my back, making my skin crawl. I shivered, even though
it was hot enough I was sweating. I never knew when one of them might try to
touch me.

The water cooled my fingers when I dipped
them in, making small swirling circles ripple around my hand. My hovering
shadow, a guard assigned to follow me around, shouted over to the guards who
were with the main group lounging together beside the lake. The sound startled
me, and I jerked, splashing water over my robe. I glared at him from the corner
of my eye, but my guard was talking to Fieo and not paying that much attention
to me. Nicklaus was sitting in the shade of the weird brown trees by the water.
He was busy talking to Ryker, the other human who’d set us free from the
military scientists.

Over the last few days, things had settled
down. Those Caeorleian Council guys were no longer trying to force us into
matches with their own people. Ryker’s guy had really told them off, calling it
the rape it would have been. The other two men might want one of these pale
aliens touching them, but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what would happen to us on
their planet, but I didn’t need anyone pawing at me. I’d known I would need
more information, so I pumped the only person I could. Ryker had spent a few
afternoons telling us everything he’d learned living on Caeorleia, which was
the name of their planet.

I’d tried to absorb everything about the
Caeorleians, treating what he told me like a debriefing. Before Ryker and his isit had rescued us, the only term I’d
heard the planet called was MC-214-XXV. It had been the subject of a lot of
speculation among the rank and file since it’d been discovered. The rest of the
time I stayed in my room, avoiding the guards. Especially the one always
hovering over Nicklaus. It creeped me out to see the way he watched him every
second—so possessive. Fieo never touched Nicklaus but focused on him with a
single-minded intensity.

Ryker and his alien guy, Seral, were never
far apart, either. Being part of that kind of constricting relationship
would’ve driven me insane. A slave to a need not my own? No. Not on the agenda.

I sighed, dipping my other arm in the water
up to my wrist. It was really too hot out in the sun, but the shade of those
weird sampanga trees was filled with
naked aliens. And as tempting as the water was, I didn’t want to go swimming.
That would involve taking off my robe.

I was not comfortable with that, even if it
seemed like almost everyone on this planet shunned clothing. I’d never seen so
many cocks and balls, and I’d been in military school and then actually joined
the Space Forces as a teenager. Close quarters with a lot of guys was nothing
new, but I couldn’t believe the Caeorleians’ blasé attitude toward nudity.
Ryker had told us about the confusion over the different concept of clothing
he’d encountered when he first showed up. Ryker ran around in a pair of shorts
and had given Nicklaus a few pairs. I was too big for his shorts, so I had to
wear the aliens’ version of a skirt and robe.

It was awkward. I’d tried to wear my pants
I’d been wearing when we fled the ship, but it was too hot. I was not going to
go naked, though, not like these aliens.

A shadow fell over me. I dipped my shoulder
and spun as I surged to my feet. The guard who had come up behind me seemed
startled and looked at me uncertainly as I glared at him.

“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, clenching my
hands into fists, barely resisting the urge to show him my fangs. “What do you
want?”

He held up his hands and took a step back.
“Sorry. Everyone is going inside; it’s too hot out here. Seral has invited you
to eat with him, and the midday meal will be served soon.”

I grimaced. Being stuck in a crowd of
people around a table was the last place I wanted to be, but I didn’t feel like
I had much of a choice. I waited for the guard to move after he gestured at the
path. The guard took another few steps away from me, but he didn’t start
walking toward the building until I walked past him. Then he followed me. I
ground my teeth, my shoulders hunching up.

I could have been safe the past five years,
in a hovel back on my home planet, working in a factory as a drone assembler or
something. I might have more freedom to move around on Caeorleia than I’d had
on the ship Ryker and Seral rescued me from, but at this point I wasn’t sure
how much better it was here.

Damn scientists.

Author
Bio:

Alicia Nordwell is one of those not so
rare creatures, a reader turned writer. Striving to find an interesting story
one day, she decided to write what she wanted instead. Then the voices
started... Yep, not only does she talk about herself in the third person for
bios, she has voices in her head constantly clamoring to get out.

Fortunately, with the encouragement of her family and friends, she decided for
her own sanity to keep writing. Now you can find her stories both free and e-published.
When she’s not on the computer typing away, she's a wife and a mom of two in
the dreary, yet ideal for her redhead complexion, Pacific Northwest. Except for
when she disappears into one of the many worlds in her head, of course!

She can also be found quite often at her blog, where she has a lot of free
fiction for readers to enjoy or working hard, or maybe hardly working, as an
admin on GayAuthors.org under her online nickname, Cia.

Share or post
about my eBook on Facebook or Twitter, tagging me via my social media accounts
above, and you’re entered in a contest to win a $5 Gift Card as my thanks for
helping me get the word out about my newest eBook. This contest runs March 23rd
only! Contest ends at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and
announced March 24th on my blog.